Chaos DVD: Review By Bryan Yentz

For anyone that doesn't know: No, this is not the "Chaos" which was self-deemed the most brutal film ever made. While that was a self-righteous rip-off of Wes Craven's already horrific The Last House on the Left, this is a relatively tame thriller starring Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes and Ryan Philippe.

When a bunch of burglars break into a bank to... Well, do what any burglar would do-steal money. Scarred veteran cop Quentin Conners (played by Jason Statham) is called into action to assist the newbie Ryan Philippe in bringing down the roustabouts as well as their leader played by ol' Wesley himself. Needless to say, the plot thickens when they discover that the bank heist was only a distraction for something bigger, and everyone becomes caught in a web of deceit and betrayal.

For a large portion of the film, this plays out a lot like a buddy cop movie... Except without the unnecessary humor. You have Jason Statham playing the disgruntled cop whose hiding a painful memory, and makes the law take a back seat when dealing with criminals. And under his "guidance", you have the new cop played by Ryan Philippe who tries to play everything by the book, and always has both the look and attitude of, "Sir, you can't do that!" when dealing with crazy Statham. Then again... Beyond that, they really aren't "buddies" per se... And the movie really isn't focused on their relationship anyway. The main focus here is placed directly on the plot, some twists here and there, and the mysterious relationship between both Statham and Snipes.

The main issue I have with this thriller, isn't that it's bad; it's just that... Well, it's just very generic. Like Ryan Philippe's character, this movie is very by the books. While there are some entertaining bits, you won't remember them whatsoever once the credits start rolling. This goes for the acting as well. While all of the actors do a fine job, every character they're supposed to portray is like every character they've already portrayed... About a dozen times over. Remember Statham's tough-as-nails character from The One? Crank? Ghosts of Mars? Well, he's here again except to a somewhat lesser degree. And then there's Wesley Snipes, who I'm convinced has played the exact same character he's played since Demolition Man (however, I did love Blade: 2).

Overall, Chaos is a decent rental if there aren't any other better thrillers (or bank heist

films-like Heat) to watch. Nothing here will blow you away, but you might find yourself a wee bit entertained for the hour-and-a-half that it's on.

Commentary with Director Tony Giglio-

Writer/director Tony shares more of his thoughts on his project and helps fill the viewer in a little bit more on his little project. Like listening to him speak in the featurette, it's good to see him at least a bit excited over trying to make his film something different... If only it truly could have been.

"The Order Behind the Chaos" Featurette-

A typical behind the scenes look at the film, the actors and the writer/director. You know the formula, you get some peeks at the production of the movie-nothing too in-depth, then we meet some actors who share their enthusiasm with the project and how it's "so different" and blah, blah, blah. Finally, the director gets a few words in about his motives behind the project and what he hopes people will walk away with after they've witnessed his action thriller. Yeah... It's not that worthwhile.

It looks just fine. It's presented in a 16x9 widescreen format.

Generic heist/typical thriller music, other than that, it all checks out here. It's presented in 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio.

The cover is an odd combination of bland and lame. It showcases the film's three lead actors while various streaks of color with a sort-of "speed/blur" effect added to it all. It looks like they were trying to copy (yet not entirely rip-off ) Crank's cover, as well as the Crank rip-off cover for "Crooked".

It's a decent attempt at a thriller, just don't expect to remember it after it's over.